Late at night, inside Sunagakure's command room.
Ebizo and Chiyo, two old comrades, were still up late.
The village was already short on talent, and now with Gaara abducted, the burden on them was even heavier.
Several scrolls lay on the long table, containing the latest battle reports from the front lines.
Sunagakure's plan to breach the Land of Fire's defenses had encountered a slight hitch.
The ninjas they dispatched met with stubborn resistance from Konoha ninjas, gaining no advantage and being led around in circles. They had now retreated to the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, awaiting new orders from the village.
"The one who abducted Gaara should be Obito of Akatsuki."
"A ninja miraculously survived and witnessed everything firsthand."
Ebizo pinched his brow, it was Akatsuki again. This organization seemed to be their nemesis, with three successive Kazekage dying at their hands.
However, why did Obito abduct Gaara?
To threaten Sunagakure with Gaara?
What did Sunagakure have left that would make him covetous now?
For some unknown reason, they had a bad premonition.
Shaking these thoughts from her mind, Chiyo pointed to the Land of Lightning on the map. "Have the barbarians of Kumogakure still not moved? We agreed on a pincer attack, what is that hothead A dawdling for?"
Ebizo handed over an encrypted scroll and said, "Sister, A said they were ambushed by Kirigakure, which caused a delay."
Chiyo snorted, thinking that these idiots from Kirigakure could never be a match for the barbarians of Kumogakure.
A might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but on a direct battlefield, Kirigakure's ninjas would absolutely not be able to withstand Kumogakure's overwhelming offensive.
"It should be soon." Chiyo calculated the time.
"We'll make our move once Kumogakure reaches the front line."
Ebizo hummed in agreement.
Sunagakure's internal leadership had long since reached a consensus. Their objective in this war was not to kill a certain number of Konoha ninjas or seize a certain amount of resources. Rather, it was to preserve as much of their fighting force as possible.
This way, after the war, they would have the leverage to negotiate with Ōnoki and A when it came time to divide the spoils.
Otherwise, even if Sunagakure's contributions were immense, if those two old foxes saw that Sunagakure was wiped out, they would definitely not give them any benefits. They might even take advantage of the situation and devour Sunagakure.
Such things were not uncommon in the Ninja World.
The two oldies would naturally not be so foolish as to sacrifice themselves.
Chiyo and Ebizo's predictions were accurate.
Kirigakure, following Konoha's orders, sent ninjas to directly confront the barbarians of Kumogakure.
However, it was clear that Kumogakure's overall strength was superior, and the Three-Tails Jinchuriki didn't seem to be enough.
A few days later, Kirigakure retreated and regrouped with the Konoha ninjas who had already arrived in the Land of Frost.
The Land of Frost is a small country perpetually covered in wind and snow. It has no significant military power, and most of its areas are uninhabited.
However, being located by the sea, it is a vital route from the Land of Lightning to the Land of Fire. Its importance is self-evident.
Inside the main tent, Jiraiya took a sip of hot water, looking somewhat fatigued.
Over the past few days, Kumogakure had launched several attacks in batches, all of which Konoha repelled without them gaining any advantage.
He had been wandering around outside for years and had collected some information about Kumogakure.
It was obsessed with militarism, training ninjas with a vengeance. They consumed an unimaginable amount of rice daily. It seemed they were always ready to launch a war.
As the commander of this front line, Jiraiya had to be a hundred times more vigilant.
What made Kumogakure troublesome, besides those roaring muscle-bound men, were its two Jinchuriki.
Among them, Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, was even known as a perfect Jinchuriki.
If Kumogakure deployed him to the battlefield, there was no telling how much damage he would cause.
Even more troublesome was that Sasuke and Naruto, two hotheaded kids, were also on this front line.
These two ignorant brats, ever since they heard that A was on this front, had been clamoring daily about wanting to give that scoundrel a good beating. They were just bragging. Even both of them combined wouldn't be enough to fight him.
What made him even more speechless was that Satoshi didn't even try to control them. He even said something about these two having "cheats" and not dying so easily, a phrase Jiraiya didn't quite understand.
Jiraiya sighed, three troublesome fellows.
"Sasuke and Naruto haven't returned from patrol yet?"
"Jiraiya-sama, there's no news of them yet."
Jiraiya suddenly had a bad premonition. These two unruly kids, please don't cause some monumental trouble.
At the same time, deep in the snow-covered mountains, far from Konoha's main camp.
Naruto lowered his voice. "Hey, Sasuke, have we gone too far? We're well beyond the patrol range, we should head back."
Sasuke didn't reply, his gaze fixed on a sheltered mountain hollow ahead. Figures were faintly visible there, and lights glowed brightly. It was clearly an important Kumogakure logistical base.
"I'm going to take a look. If you're scared, you can go back first."
Before he finished speaking, his figure flickered, and he silently scaled the wall surrounding the base.
"Hey. Sasuke, come back quickly."
Naruto cursed under his breath, realizing the trouble, and had no choice but to follow.
However, the moment they landed, from the shadows all around, dozens of Kumogakure ninjas instantly emerged, surrounding them.
"Look who it is, aren't these the Hokage's two students?"
A tall, blonde woman slowly emerged, looking down at Naruto and Sasuke.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Yugito."
Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.
Sasuke sneered, his right hand resting on his Kusanagi Sword.
Was Two-Tails very impressive?
This blond guy next to him has a Nine-Tails inside him.
Don't be fooled because he looks like an idiot. When Naruto gets serious, just a little Chakra can kill you.
Yugito approached the two step by step. "Perfect. We'll take the Uchiha back to the village for breeding with Mabui, and as for this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he now belongs to Kumogakure as well."
Tap... Tap...
Mabui, Darui, and other miscellaneous ninjas blocked Naruto and Sasuke's retreat.
Naruto clenched his fist. "Sasuke, it seems we're being underestimated."
Sasuke slowly drew his Kusanagi Sword, its cold blade pointing at Yugito. The tomoe in his Sharingan spun wildly.
"Take them down."
"Got it, let's go!" Naruto roared, his Chakra erupting.
"Tsk, what a bother..."
Darui looked at Sasuke, his face still holding that half-asleep expression, but his movements were as fast as lightning. He drew the large sword from his back, instantly transforming into a blur of blades, slashing down at Sasuke.
Clang!
The Kusanagi Sword precisely blocked Darui's heavy chop, the immense force causing the snow beneath Sasuke's feet to collapse sharply.
In Kumogakure, Darui was definitely a first-class warrior. But the combat instincts and reaction speed honed by years of being beaten by Satoshi in various perverse ways were now displayed to their fullest.
Sasuke didn't meet the blow head-on. His body twisted strangely with the force of the blade. His Sharingan had already predicted the trajectory of Darui's power flow, and while deflecting the force, he formed a blade with his fingers.
Wrapped in a dazzling lightning arc, he viciously thrust it towards Darui's sword-wielding wrist.
"Hmm?" A hint of surprise flashed in Darui's eyes.
This young man was much more troublesome than he had imagined.
He flipped his wrist, narrowly dodging the lightning. The laziness on Darui's face finally faded.
"That was quite dangerous. It seems I can't play house with you anymore."
Darui quickly formed hand signs.
Black Panther!